(Success Story) Inspiration: Waiter to an IAS officer!

Success
Story : Inspiration: Waiter to
an IAS officer!

K
Jayaganesh who passed with a rank of 156 and has been selected for the Indian
Administrative Service after failing six times, inspires the Indian youth to
donâ€™t loose heart even on successive failures. K Jayaganesh had lost civil
services exams again and again over six times but finally with his self
determination and hard work, he succeeded in his seventh and last chance.

The
story guides us to try and try again till the success is obtained. Born and
brought up in a small village called Vinavamangalam in Vellore district, K
Jayaganesh has a poor background financially. He studied to be an engineer but
he did odd jobs, even as a waiter temporarily to cherish his bigger dream of
becoming an IAS officer and finally he realized his dream.

His
father Krishnan, who had studied up to the tenth standard, worked as a
supervisor in a leather factory getting Rs 4,500 as salary. His mother was a
simple housewife. He is the eldest in the family and has two sisters and a
brother. So his only aim is to get a good job as earliest as possible to help
the father in running the family.

He
studied up to the 8th standard in the village school and completed the remaining
school classes in a nearby town. After 10th standard, he joined a polytechnic
college as job prospects would be better there. Being good at studies, he got 91
per cent which were enough to get admission to a government engineering college
on merit.

Hence
he joined the Thanthai Periyar Government Engineering College to study
mechanical engineering. He was the only one in the batch who went to college.
Other friends of him became auto drivers or coolies or masons only. His father
is very supportive to him knowing the value of education. After completing
engineering, getting job is the next effort. Soon he got a job with salary Rs
2,500 at a Bangalore company that reconditioned tools.

But
he always keep thinking about the youngsters of his village which have no one to
guide the importance of education and they always remain poor ending with jobs
in tannery or become auto drivers or coolies. Meanwhile he came to know that a
collector in a small place could do a lot. This is the turning point now, when
he resigned his job and decided to be an IAS officer.

Tough
way starts now to become an IAS officer when he could not clear preliminary
exams in first two attempts because he got no guidance about preparation.

He
had taken mechanical engineering as main subject. Later he met Uma Surya in
Vellore who was also preparing for the examination. He guides him to take
sociology as an option. But third attempt is again a failure.

Later
he passed fourth attempt after he joined the government coaching centre
(external link) in Chennai. As Chennai was very expensive for him, he started a
part time job of a billing clerk for computer billing in the canteen at Sathyam
Cinemas to run his life and studies too. He worked as a waiter also during the
interval.

Here
comes the interview cal now. Not very fluent in English but he conveyed whatever
he wanted to. Perhaps he did not articulate well. He failed in the interview.

Again
he tried for fifth time afresh and alas! He failed. He later quit the job and
joined a private firm to teach sociology to those preparing for the UPSC
examinations. His friends in Chennai gave him a helping hand. And his hard work
rewarded. Sixth time he cleared preliminary and main but bad luck continues as
he failed interview. Meanwhile he had written an examination to be an officer
with the Intelligence Bureau and was selected there. Now he has two
choices- join the job at IB or prepare again for IAS.

But
he was ready for his last attempt. With a fear and confusions he gave his
preliminary exam. He passed. He attempted his mains. He passed. Now the last
stage- interview, April 2008, Delhi.

He
was scared. In interview, the one mistake he did was that he did not wish the
interviewers at the start.

And
at last, when interviewers did not respond when he said thanks at the end, he
got confused about his success. He just prayed to God to cherish his seven year
long dream. Finally the day of result came and god listen his prayers. He got
156th rank out of more than 700 selected candidates. This was the happiest day
of this hard worker, self determined person who encourages others to achieve
their goals.

He
got a warm welcome at his village and was extremely fascinated by the response
of villagers who garlanded him, burst crackers and played music on his arrival.
Everyone wished him.

He
said,â€ My real work starts now. I want to try hard to eradicate poverty and
spread the message of education to all people. Education is the best tool to
eradicate poverty.â€

The
story is really encouraging and shows an ideal way for the Indian youth to
achieve the targets of their life without getting depressed by failures.